Spike Lee Mixes ‘Do The Right Thing”s Radio Raheem Scene With Eric Garner’s Death [VIDEO]

Eric Garner, 43, was killed Thursday after being placed in an illegal chokehold by the NYPD and filmmaker Spike Lee has drawn a chilling comparison between Garner’s death and Radio Raheem’s death in “Do The Right Thing.”

Director Spike Lee took the video of the incident, which went viral, and intercut scenes of Radio Raheem’s death sequence in his seminal 1989 film, “Do The Right Thing,” essentially holding up a mirror to reality, emphasizing how much his art seemingly imitates (or maybe I should say, reflects) real life – still, some 25 years later, since that film’s release.

The group met outside the Tompkinsville shop where the altercation happened before marching to the nearby 120th police precinct, chanting, “Whose island? Our island!”

“I just wanna say one thing,” a woman holding a bullhorn outside the precinct said. “What is happening to that cop? We need some answers!”

You can hear Garner shouting, “I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!” approximately 12 times as at least five NYPD cops wrestle him to the ground in front of a beauty supply store in the Tompkinsville section of Staten Island.

Officer Daniel Pantaleo, an eight-year NYPD veteran, and an officer who has been with the force for four years, were both taken off the street for their roles in Garner’s death. Pantaleo was also stripped of his gun and badge.